


your love is the cure

by goldengalaxies



Series: fix my past and present [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Angst, Child Abandonment, Child Neglect, Fainting, Fever, Flashbacks, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Multi, Neil’s mum was a shitty parent, Sick Character, Sickfic, Team as Family, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 21:22:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18432359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldengalaxies/pseuds/goldengalaxies
Summary: Sweat poured from his temple, running down into his eyes. He could feel the bile coming up in his throat.“Neil! The fucking ball is right in front of you!” Kevin’s shout brought him back to reality.(neil is sick. ofc he ignores it and passes out on the field. the team teaches him it’s not okay.)





	your love is the cure

**Author's Note:**

> hello :) if u have read my other fics then this is an explaination to why i have been missing for the last week. i discovered AFTG and i aM oBsEssEd. neil is my son, okay?
> 
> \+ tw for child abuse, child neglect etc. and also if u are grossed out by vomiting- this is not the fic for u
> 
> anyways, enjoy! <3

His skin was on fire. He tried to move his arms- a futile attempt to push himself up and off of the bed, but they buckled under his weight. Beads of sweat dripped down onto the bed. The once clean sheets smelt sour, and the odour made his stomach twist.

He pressed his lips together furiously, as if that would stop the bile from coming up. Faintly, he registered the alarm blaring but it sounded muffled to his hazy thoughts. He groaned, clutching at his head, pressing his fingers hard against his temple to numb the pain.

He realised he needed to get up. His mum would be coming in at any second and if she saw him lazing around in bed at this time, she wouldn’t be happy. Neil’s bones ached at the thought, as if warning him of what would be to come if she found him in bed.

Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he felt someone shift behind him. He turned his gaze to the alarm clock. 7:30. Why was his mum still asleep? He faintly realised that he was in his room at the foxhole court, but his brain refused to connect the pieces.

He turned around slowly, his stomach protesting at even the smallest movement. It lurched sickeningly, filling Neil with nausea. His mother would be furious if Neil had let both of them sleep until this late.

He turned to see Andrew laying in the bed next to him, fast asleep, a small frown marring his soft features. Neil wanted to reach out move the strand of hair that fell across his face, but he felt even sicker at the idea of touching a sleeping Andrew.

His head felt as if it had been stuffed with cotton wool, making his thoughts sluggish. His mum was dead, he knew this. He needed to sort himself out before practise- he couldn’t afford to get it wrong on the field today. They only had a few more practises before their first game of the season, so practise was vital at this point.

He forced himself up and out of the bed. His legs wobbled dangerously as he made his way to the bathroom. He fumbled for a moment with the door handle as his vision went sideways, but eventually made it in. Leaning on the sink heavily, his fingers trembled as he touched the cold water, spraying it up into his face.

He would be fine. He’d dealt with worse on the road, and he hadn’t even puked yet- that was a good sign. He was just being dramatic, he knew, it was only a headache and a mild fever, he could deal with that.

You couldn’t be sick on the run, so he’d learnt to ignore any symptoms, flooding his systems with as many painkillers as possible and using splashes of cold water to keep himself sharp.

Tearing his clothes off, he grappled with the shower curtain, heaving himself over the side of the tub.

The spray of the shower helped to clear his head slightly. He sighed in relief, shaking his head under the cold spray.

His mum was dead and he was at foxhole court. How could he have forgotten that? He absently realised that he probably had a fever. Which, as long as he didn’t mess anything else up, should be fine. It was like accidentally thinking you have school on a Saturday- totally normal.

He stepped out of the shower, thankfully not wobbling this time. He pulled on a pair of sports leggings and the top that went under his uniform. Andrew was just about awake as Neil walked out, making a beeline for their bed.

“Yes or no?” Andrew sleepily reached out a hand towards him, but Neil turned away.

“Not right now, Drew.” He didn’t want to make his boyfriend sick and kissing him would probably be the worst thing to do right now.

Andrew’s hand retracted quickly from where it was hanging in the air, but he didn’t seem bothered by Neil’s refusal, simply nodding and leaving for the bathroom.

Neil just sat on the bed, trying to conserve as much energy as possible for practise.

He heard Andrew’s footsteps as he came back into their dorm room. Neil’s head shot up in surprise, (which he immediately regretted as the room started spinning) not expecting Andrew to be out so soon.

Grinding his teeth together, he locked his jaw determinedly, and moved to leave quickly, pretending that his vision wasn’t blurring more and more by the second.

* * *

Despite feeling a little better from the shower, it didn’t take long for this small relief period to wear off. Neil felt considerably worse by the time they left for the court and asked to hold Andrew’s hand as they walked down. He couldn’t help but clutch onto his boyfriend’s hand for support.

They reached the changing rooms quickly and he moved to his locker, grabbing his kit and ignoring the aches that reaching up caused. He pointedly ignored the sweat that was beginning to gather at the bottom of his neck.

Being up so early had everyone else quiet, which Neil was grateful for. They all geared up and filed out silently, Matt rubbing his eyes mid yawn as they left. He took a moment without his teammates to settle down on the bench, taking long breaths in and out.

His head was still throbbing and he could feel his heart beating in his throat. It felt tight and _hot_ \- he hoped he didn’t have a temperature as well.

He quickly stole into Abby’s office, rummaging through the med kit hastily, mentally cheering when he locates the painkillers. He chucks three down his throat, without looking at the packet, swallowing them dry.

He jogged back into the changing room just in time for Andrew’s head to pop up through the door, a bored expression on his face. “You coming?”

“Yeah, one sec.” He bent down to collect his racket off of the floor, ignoring how it made his stomach lurch. It took him a second to regain his bearings, attempting to fight off the feelings of nausea.

“You’re acting weird, Josten.” Andrew said. It wasn’t accusatory exactly, but more of a demand for answers.

“I’m _fine_.” Neil said. “Come on, let’s go.”

He strode onto the pitch where everyone else was in their positions. Kevin looked annoyed at their lateness, but Neil couldn’t bring himself to care.

Matt eyed him curiously. “You okay, Neil?”

He was pretty sure he was going to puke if he so much as opened his mouth, let alone spoke, so he settled for a simple nod.

He’d be fine.

* * *

“ _You’re_   _nothing_ _but_   _trouble,_ _you_ _know_ _that?”_ His mother’s voice sounded through his head. “ _We_ _don’t_ _have_ _time_ _to_ _deal_ _with_ _your_ _theatrics,_ _Nathaniel!_ _Get_ _in_ _the_ _goddamn_ _car,_ _before_ _I_ _have_ _to_ _force_ _you_ _in_ _there.”_

She had been right. He needed to push through this. He couldn’t be weak.

Weak, weak, _weak_.

“ _Why_ _are_ _you_ _so_ _weak? I should have taken you to England- you’ve gone soft.”_

Sweat poured from his temple, running down into his eyes.

_”You think I need you slowing me down? Grow up or you’ll get us killed!”_

“Neil! The fucking ball is right in front of you!” Kevin’s furious shout cut through his thoughts, bringing him back to reality.

He swiped the ball up into the racket, passing to Nicky as quickly as possible.

He could do this. What use was he sick? He needed to stay strong for his team. It wasn’t even that bad, anyways, the pills had done a little to take the edge off. He just needed to get through practise and then he could sleep.

_“Ungrateful little fuck- you get out of bed right now.”_

Neil ran as fast as he could, pushing through the agonising pain to swipe the ball back up, swinging it towards the goal.

 _I‘ve been up since five to get us new passports after_ you _fucked up at the last border, and you’ve been lazing around in bed?”_

“I’ve been up since five to get us new papers after you fucked up at the last border, and you’re lazing around in bed?”

Wymack clapped from the stands. “Well done, Neil.”

He went back to his original spot on the pitch, his knees locking to keep his legs from wobbling anymore than they already were.

He planted his racket into the ground, leaning on it momentarily. He doesn’t realise that the ball is coming his way until Dan bodychecks him. Despite her strength, Neil usually doesn’t move more than a couple of centimetres from her hits, but this one sends him flying.

Distantly he heard someone shout out a curse.

_“You aren’t that sick! Deal with it, or do you want your father to find us, huh? Do you?”_

He scrambled to his feet- or, tried to. As soon as he pushed himself up, his legs gave out again. His teammates crowd round him.

“Oh my God, Neil!” It’s Dan. “I’m so sorry, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He lied. 

Andrew scoffed somewhere from his left. “Get up then.”

When he makes no movement, strong arms wrap around his waist, lifting him up. He see’s Andrew’s face moving hazily in front of him so he assumes it’s Matt or Nicky holding him up.

His stomach jostled as the person squeezed too tightly and there’s nothing he could do, he was going to puke, he was going to puke and there was nothing he could do to stop it this time. He panicked, blinding pushing people away from him, ripping off his practise helmet before it poured from his mouth.

“Oh my God!” A disgusted voice spoke up from behind him. It sounded like Allison.

The sound of vomit hitting the pitch made him feel even more queasy and it brought up even more bile.

He stopped puking for a second and his body went boneless. He had no energy to keep himself upright. His face landed a centimetre away from the vomit and he groaned at the stench. From his place on the floor he can see Wymack running onto the pitch.

“I’m sorry.” Neil croaked, tucking his head down in shame. He’d never felt more embarrassed, sitting in his own vomit.

“Jesus kid.” Wymack said, he carefully stepped over the sick to crouch down beside Neil. “Why the hell are you sorry?”

Neil didn’t respond but instead tried to push himself up. His vision went dark, his body straining in the effort to keep himself awake, but his consciousness quickly followed.

* * *

He woke feeling hot and panicky, vomit making it’s way up his throat. The jostling and swinging of being carried in Matt’s arms didn’t help either. He bucks for a second, alerting Matt about a second before he puked all over his shoes.

“Christ!” Aaron said. “Ugh, that is disgusting, keep it in Josten.”

“Keep it in Nathaniel. I can’t stop just anywhere for you to pamper yourself, fucking pansy. You think either of us have the luxury to be taken care of?”

_Keep it in Nathaniel. I can’t stop just anywhere, you fucking pansy. What do you want, a spa treatement? You think either of us have the luxury to be taken care of?”_

Neil blacked in and out of consciousness as they made their way up to the dorm room. He collapsed in the bed. He heard all of the group file out, except Andrew. He couldn’t see him but he knew he was there. The sound of a bucket being placed next to him made his stomach groan in protest.

He wanted to push himself back up but he couldn’t.

“If you try and tell me you’re fine, I’ll kick your ass.” Andrew said.

“I am fi-.” He started, before seeing Andrew’s angry face.

“Don’t you fucking dare, Josten.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Shut _up_.”

“But I can’t be sick! The game is-“

“You’re allowed to be sick, Neil.” He wasn’t sure when Matt had come back in the room.

His vision cleared momentarily, and he saw his team hovering in a large group around his bed.

“Dude.” Nicky said. “Why didn’t you just say something?”

“Because I’m just being dramatic. Everyone gets sick, doesn’t mean they can take a day off.”

Kevin started to nod in agreement but Wymack noticed and swatted him round the head. “Don’t you start as well, moron.”

The others gaped at him.

“What?” Nicky said. “Of course you can!”

“No, mum always said sickness was a luxury and she was right. I’ve dealt with a fever on the road before, I can work my way through a practise.”

“She said what?” Dan sounded outraged.

“Neil, that’s fucked up.” It was Renee, out of everyone who said this.

“But-.” 

“No Neil. You deserved better.” Renee said. 

Silence reigned throughout the room at her words. Neil thought about arguing but, except for Kevin, the team seemed to all be in agreement with Renee, so he just nodded.

Seeing his acceptance, the team backed off slightly, letting Abby through with her med kit to kneel besides Neil.

“I took some pills earlier.” Neil spoke before she could move. He didn’t want to overdose- he’d learnt his lesson from the last time.

“You stupid boy! How many did you take, huh? I told you to take a couple so we could go, now you’re only going to slow us down.”

She just sighed as if she hadn’t expected anything else. “You Foxes are going to be the death of me.”

She put her kit away, instead getting a flannel from the bathroom and washing his face clean. She then made him drink a glass of water, washing the foul taste away.

“Just drink some water and get over it!”

She refilled the glass an put it on the bedside-table before turning to the others.

“Go on, get out of here, I don’t want any of you to come down with it.” The words she said sounded so similar to what his mother would have said, but the meaning was different. Neil smiled as much as his mouth would allow.

The all filtered out slowly, Abby following after she took a second to push his hair gently away from his face, mothering him and fussing gently. She walked silently over to the door, leaving with a soft click as the lock shut behind her.

Only Andrew was left.

It was silent for a beat. “I’m sorry.” He couldn’t help himself.

“Shut up.” Andrew frowned. “Yes or no?”

“Yes.” At this word, Andrew grabbed his face, pulling him towards Andrew’s own, forcing him too look straight at Andrew.

“Stop saying you’re sorry. You haven’t done anything wrong, okay?” Andrew said furiously. “Now, you are going to get some sleep and you are not leaving this fucking bed until Abby clears you to, okay?”

Neil is taken aback but Andrew’s angry tone. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard Andrew speak with so much emotion in his voice. Neil is starting to get the feeling that his mother was wrong, after all, about a lot of things.

“Okay.” He whispered back.

It might take him a long time to unlearn everything fucked up that she taught him, but, with the help of his Foxes, his family, he knew he would be able to.

**Author's Note:**

> ummm so i lost inspo half way through so idk how this was but i hoped u enjoyed it :)
> 
> please leave kudos/comments i love to hear what u thought! :)
> 
> thank u for reading x


End file.
